OCEANPORT, NJ — This article was written by local journalist John Spinelli from Monmouth County:
A mix of “professionals” and “backyard amateurs” from across New Jersey gathered for the first Cornhole Tournament at Monmouth Park on August 11. This was the first “officially” sponsored Cornhole Tournament at the track.
The tournament, called “Bags, Bands and Beer,” featured both a competitive cash prize league and an amateur league, with music commentated and directed by Press Communication radio stations Thunder 106.3 and 107.1 the Boss.
The grand prize for first place consisted of $250 in cash per player and, for amateurs, $250 in gift cards, in addition to the top three prizes.
The winning team was the “Hawk Tuah” led by Joe McGuigan and Frank Colabella and in the amateur classification the team “Fire in the Hole” led by Jeffrey Lorenzain secured the victory.
The event was sponsored by Value City Furniture, IBEW Local 400, Gunner Roofing, Lakehouse Music Academy (live music), Nisan City of Red Bank and equipment was provided by New Jersey Cornhole Mayhem.
Wendy Price, press communications sales manager, said the event had been years in the making.
“We talked to Brian Skirka (Monmouth Park’s marketing director) about this idea a few years ago and we’re glad we were finally able to put it together,” she said. “We’ve never had such a fun tournament on such a large scale here before.”
“Next year we will have some cornhole boards so everyone can come over and play for fun,” she added.
“Everyone is great in the cornhole community. It’s tough competition, but at the end of the day, everyone is friendly to each other,” said Colabella, a player on the winning team and a Hamilton, New Jersey native. “For me, the game is a social thing. Money is just a plus; it’s not the main reason I enjoy playing this game.”
Colabella is the athletic trainer at Elizabeth High School, and like many others, he started playing cornhole at home during the pandemic.
“I played by myself in the backyard and got better and better. Later, I was ranked fifth in New Jersey by the ACL (American Cornhole League),” he said.
He said the game helped him meet new people across the country.
“When my wife and I were vacationing in Hawaii, I found a local match on Cornholio.com. After the game, we met the locals and they told us lots of great places to visit on the island.”
In addition to the game, the same day, in cooperation with the Count Basie Theater, free concert tickets were given to visitors, who received them after each race.
There was also excitement on the racetrack side:
The first race of the day began with a surprise. The team of Kathleen O’Connell and jockey Melissa Iorio rode the Irish-bred “Play Misty” to win the first Maiden Claiming Special.
In the third race, rookie jockey Christopher Elliott had a successful day, winning the deciding race with guest trainer Melanie Giddings.
Veteran jockey Jairo Rendon also had a winning streak, winning two races with the mare Patty Van Twinkle, trained by J. Kent Sweezey of Monmouth Beach, and Lord Knows, trained by trainer/owner Michael Dini.
In the main race, the Incredible Revenge Stakes, the horses of top French trainer Christophe Clement showed a strong finish. In the last furlong, “Love Appeals” under Vincent Cheminaud quickly overtook “Shoshanah”. Under Martha Rojas and trainer Kyle Horlacher, Clement’s team took home the $100,000 prize.
